Discoveries - 2. Chapter 2

Part II Discoveries

 

Chapter Two The Story

It turned out to be a story, written out in long hand, about twenty pages in all. Now I knew why he wanted the computer so bad--what a painstaking process it must have been to write this all out by hand! Not to mention, he was left handed, which must have made it even more difficult.

It was called Mall Encounter, and I of course flashed back to the little episode that had taken place over two weeks ago now, in which Jesse bravely rescued me from a serious pounding from some high school bullies. As I started to read, it became clear that this story was loosely based on that event, with some details very similar to what really happened and others...well...let’s just say, that boy had a very vivid and unique imagination.

The story is told through the eyes of Parker Truman, who I guessed pretty early on, was supposed to be me--although I sounded a lot better the way Jesse described me...

Parker, a couple months away from his fourteenth birthday, was a slender youth, moderately tall, with wavy brown hair that covered his ears. His face was smooth and unblemished, honest and open. His eyes were the warmest possible hazel, and to look into them was to see pure, youthful innocence coupled with a genuine goodness of heart rarely seen in people of any age...

Anyway, in Jesse’s version of the story, Parker goes to the mall after dinner to meet up with his friend Jonny Kimbrough-who is supposed to be Jesse of course, except that he describes himself as a ...slight, fragile looking kid with shaggy, unkempt blonde hair whose only intriguing features were his penetrating crystal blue eyes that seemed to occasionally hint at some deeper mystery beyond his quiet, almost sullen personality...

Jesse, fragile and shaggy? I don’t think so dude!

In the beginning of the story, Jonny takes the bus from school directly to the mall in order to save on the bus fare, and had already been hanging out for several hours when Parker shows up. They’re going to have dinner and see the Jackie Chan movie and they seem like close friends in the story--not anything more than that. Then, after the movie, Jonny and Parker meet up with the ruffians in the bathroom, only this time, there are four...

One was unquestionably the leader, a tall black haired youth with a long sunken face and piercing dark eyes under a heavy brow, called Resh. His right hand man was a heavy set kid named Julio. The third was a leather clad Asian named Han who seemed to never speak. The fourth ruffian was younger than the rest at fourteen, and was the brother of Resh. His name was Tay and he shared his older brother’s dark looks, but with his silky black hair left long enough to hang in bangs at either side of his head. Unlike his brother’s sharp, nearly emaciated features, there was a softness to the younger boy’s face that was broken only by the intensity of his penetrating dark eyes.

Jesse describes the scuffle in the bathroom, using much of the original dialogue from the actual event, accurately recounted. As in real life, the character of Jonny surprises the ruffians with his martial arts skills, excellently described with all the correct technical terms, of course. The twist in Jesse’s story is that Han also is a martial artist, good enough to challenge Jonny, but not to overpower him. While Han keeps Jonny busy, Resh and Julio grab me--I mean Parker(!), and drag him through the parking lot to Resh’s Mustang, where he’s shoved into the backseat between Julio and Tay. When Parker screams for help, Julio punches him forcefully in the gut, almost causing the terrified boy to puke in the backseat. Resh takes off, tires squealing, the fate of Jonny and Han for the moment unknown.

They drive through several alleys, careful to not draw attention to themselves. Parker is just starting to recover from the punch when they pull into a junkyard full of old cars. They pull up behind a mechanic’s garage and go in the back way. Resh has the key...

“What’s your name, fuckhead?” Resh asked in a cold dry voice, after Julio had pushed the boy to the hard cement floor.

“P...Parker,” the frightened youth stammered.

“Well, congratulations, Parker. You’re to be the guest of honor at my kid brother’s initiation.”

Already nearly frightened out of his wits, this comment nevertheless sent a chill down Parker’s spine.

“Tay just turned fourteen and he’s been chomping at the bit to join our little gang. I believe he’s just about ready.” Resh never spoke above a loud whisper, but his voice still echoed in the high ceilinged garage, which reeked of motor oil and gasoline.

“Ready, kid?” Resh hissed.

Tay smiled menacingly. “Get up,” he ordered Parker, standing there cockily in his tight black jeans and hi-top sneakers, hands on his hips.

Parker struggled blearily to his feet, more concerned about Jonny’s fate than about himself.

“You know what you have to do,” Resh reminded his kid brother.

Tay nodded, gazing intently into Parker’s eyes. The frightened boy dropped his gaze to the cold cement floor.

“Not bad...” Tay commented as he slowly walked a circle around Parker, his eyes roving up and down the boy’s body. “Nice eyes, not too scrawny...”

“C’mon bro,” his brother urged impatiently.

Tay grinned as he nodded his understanding about what was expected of him. “Take off your shirt!” Tay ordered Parker.

“Leave me alone,” Parker retorted, standing his ground. Julio took a menacing step forward.

“Okay, okay, you bastards!” Parker relented, not looking forward to another blow from the two hundred and twenty pound bully while his stomach still ached from the first punch he had received in the car. Reluctantly, Parker unbuttoned his shirt. He had barely slipped it off his shoulders before Resh grabbed it out of his hands, leaving Parker naked from the waist up in the cold junkyard garage.

“Now your shoes,” Tay ordered.

“Wh...what?” Parker stammered in puzzlement.

“Take off your shoes!” Tay repeated impatiently.

Parker complied, slipping his black Sketchers off, leaving his feet clad in thin white socks.

“And your pants, dude,” Tay said with a sneer. He acted tough, but Parker was aware of how closely Tay was watching him as he was forcing him to undress. In fact, all three of the ruffians were watching with rapt attention, Julio standing by with clenched fists, ready to use force if Parker refused to cooperate.

With shaking fingers, Parker undid the button at the top of his jeans, tugged down the zipper, and pushed the tight denim down past his hips. He stooped to push his pants down to his ankles. He balanced clumsily on one foot and then the other as he slipped the jeans off. Parker was now stripped down to his boxers and socks.

“Now hold out your arms,” Tay said, grabbing a coil of rope.

Whoa! Was this shy little Jesse writing this thing? Man, was I getting horny! I rolled over on my belly, laying the note book on my pillow and resting my head on my folded arms.

Tay thoughtfully removed Parker’s wristwatch before coiling the rope around the frightened boy’s wrists, jerking the ends tightly to remove the slack with each completed loop. The course rope dug into Parker’s skin as he stood helplessly in his boxers, watching the black haired youth only a little older than himself, bind his wrists together.

Next, Tay hooked Parker’s bound wrists to a long chain that dangled from the ceiling. He walked over to a small control panel and switched on a noisy motor. With the push of a button, Parker felt a sudden jolt as the chain began to rise, lifting first his arms, and then his entire body, into the air. He was hooked to a block and tackle, normally used to haul engine blocks out for repair or replacement. Tay stopped the motor when Parker was standing just on the tips of his toes.

“Great bod!” Resh exclaimed. “I know you wanted the other one, but I think you got lucky, bro!”

Parker felt nauseous, and it was no longer just from the punch to his stomach. “Wh...what are you going to do...?” he whispered fearfully.

Tay smiled malevolently, his eyes constantly roaming up and down Parker’s nearly naked body.

“For his initiation, little bro needs to administer his first official blow job,” Resh explained, coming close enough to Parker that the frightened youth could smell the cigarettes on the grim leader’s breath.

No wonder Jesse was so adamant that I lock the door before reading this!

“Oh...man...” Parker moaned, suddenly wishing he could just melt into the floor. “Why not just beat the crap out of me and dump me in the alley?” he pleaded, thinking that pain and maybe even blissful unconsciousness would be a better alternative to what these guys had in mind.

Parker hardly noticed, but Tay looked a little uncomfortable at his brother’s pronouncement. On the one hand, he certainly seemed to be interested in the bound youth before him, and yet, he still seemed hesitant.

“Go ahead, warm him up like we talked about,” Resh encouraged him.

Tay nodded, a bit of his cocky smile returning. He came close to Parker and gently brushed his hands through the boy’s wavy brown locks. Parker was shocked to realize that he actually wasn’t repulsed by the other boy’s touch. Tay let his hands run down the sides of Parker’s face, stopping to caress his pale cheeks. His hands continued down to Parker’s neck and shoulders and rubbed over the boy’s stiffening nipples.

Parker was scared and confused, every muscle in his body stretched tight and aching. He was forced to lean his head forward to avoid having his skull crushed between his own arms. He could feel the slimy grease and oil penetrating his socks where his toes pressed against the cold cement floor.

Did Jesse write this just to get me hot, or were these the things that turned him on as well? I realized I was grinding my hips into the bed.

As Tay’s hands slipped around Parker’s waist, just above the waistband of his boxers, he began planting moist, gentle kisses on the helpless boy’s neck and shoulders. Parker felt the blushing heat on his cheeks as he actually started to become aroused. He was in a cold, smelly garage, stripped to his boxers, stretched on to the tips of his toes, his hands tightly bound with rope that was digging painfully into his wrists, with two older guys watching as this skinny kid with jet black hair tumbling into his eyes was making him hard!

Parker moaned his helplessness and frustration. He was disgusted by his own lack of willpower to resist this boy, this cruel, youthful stranger who was using him like a sexual plaything.

The moist kisses continued down Parker’s exposed skin. Tay kissed the boy’s small brown nipples and even licked them with his tongue. Parker felt his heart pounding furiously in his chest, feeling himself becoming aroused against his will. Tay kissed Parker’s sternum and continued down to his belly, his moist lips sucking briefly on the boy’s stomach below his rib cage. Parker felt the boy’s tongue enter his belly button. It was not only highly arousing, but it tickled like crazy! It was all Parker could do to keep himself from laughing. He wouldn’t give these guys that satisfaction.

“Let’s see how it’s going,” Resh said.

Tay stepped back and Resh carefully examined the bound youth, paying special attention to the boy’s boxers. The growing lump there was plain to see through the thin fabric.

“Good job, little bro. Looks like you got him warmed up pretty damn good!” Resh patted Tay on the back and Julio giggled in a disconcertingly childish way for someone his size and age. “Time to get down to business!” Resh prodded his sibling.

Tay stepped back in front of Parker, looking flushed, a little uneasy, but also anxious to please his brother. His hands reached around and caressed Parker’s butt through his boxers. Soon the caresses gave way to a more forceful kneading action. Tay’s face was pressed against Parker’s chest. Parker could smell the mixture of shampoo and gel in Tay’s black hair. Little brother tugged at the waistband of Parker’s boxers and brought them down in back, exposing the boy’s bare buttocks. Ironically, it was Parker’s own erection that kept the front of his boxers from being pulled down as well.

That was it! I came in my boxers--spurt after glorious spurt. It felt so good as I reread certain really hot lines to extend the orgasm. I lay there for a minute, out of breath, before rolling over. I wanted to keep reading, but it was a sticky mess and I didn’t want my school pants to get stained. I got up and stripped off all my clothes--shirt, pants, socks, and my messed up boxers, all of which went straight into the hamper. I got a hand towel out of the bathroom and went back to my bed. I laid the towel down where it would do the most good, and then lay back down on my belly, completely naked.

“What a great piece of ass!” Resh exclaimed, coming up behind Parker.

“I’m looking forward to fuckin’ your sweet ass,” he whispered in Parker’s ear, “as soon as Tay’s initiation is complete!” Resh slapped Parker’s naked butt cheek as he backed away. Parker could hear the leader’s boots as they clacked on the cement floor.

My God, I was starting to get hard again--already!

“No...no...no...” Parker whispered. With his ribcage pressed against his lungs, it was difficult for Parker to breath. He couldn’t even take in enough air to scream properly, yet the sense of panic made him try to lash out, to kick the boy away from him. But he had no leverage and the ropes dug even deeper into his wrists as they were forced to bear more of his weight. Tay easily dodged the boy’s feeble kick and Julio lunged forward to administer Parker’s punishment.

“Hold on,” Tay said, gesturing for Julio to back off. “I’m okay. You'll just make me have to start all over again.” Slowly, the heavy set youth backed off, one fist forcefully smacking into his open palm in a threatening manner.

“No more of that, babe,” Tay whispered in Parker’s ear. “If you’d just relax a little, you might actually enjoy this...”

Tay began caressing Parker’s erect penis through the thin fabric of his boxers. Parker shook his head, trying to keep himself from losing control. But he could feel the thrill coursing through his taut muscles as the dark haired youth stroked him. He could feel the moisture of precum beginning to stain the inside of his boxers. He looked up blearily with tears threatening to spill out of his big hazel eyes to see Resh standing a little ways back, his own dark eyes peering from beneath a heavy brow, wide with sexually charged anticipation.

“He’s ready, Tay, goddamn it--he’s READY!” Resh cried out, verbally releasing some of the pent up sexual tension he was feeling.

Tay looked up at Parker’s tear filled eyes and hesitated, his earlier cockiness all but vanished. Suddenly he looked very much like a frightened fourteen year old boy.

“C’mon, Tay, do it, man--do it!” Resh moaned, rubbing his own crotch through his baggy jeans, jangling the chains at his waist.

“I’m sorry...” Tay whispered, his own eyes now moist with tears of regret. He got to his knees on the hard cement floor so that he directly faced Parker’s crotch. He grasped the waistband of Parker’s boxers and began to pull them first up and away from the boy’s erection, and then down...

Suddenly, the back door through which they had entered burst open with such force that it banged noisily into the wall next to it, causing the whole room to reverberate. All eyes turned towards the sudden sound, including Parker.

There stood Han, wild eyed and gasping for breath, his sleek leather jacket tattered and torn, his face glistening with sweat.

“What the...?” Resh muttered, suddenly pulled from his ecstasy.

Han just teetered in the doorway for a moment, and then came rushing into the room--staggering actually--hurtling at frightful speed straight for Resh. Parker felt a ray of bright light slash through his terror stricken mind as he saw--and could hardly believe it in spite of himself--Jonny pushing Han along like one of those football dummies used for blocking practice.

Jonny had Han’s arms pinned behind him and his head pushed into the Asian youth’s back. No more than three seconds had passed since the door had burst open, and now Jonny was using Han as a human battering ram. At the last second, he stopped and flung out his arms, sending Han crashing into the stunned leader of the gang. Both of the youths fell backwards, tumbling into a pile of car parts and tools with such force that they slid several more feet across the floor, even after they fell amidst clanging metal.

Jonny didn’t hesitate, but lunged for Julio, who was standing there with his mouth hanging open. Jonny caught the huge youth full on in the belly with a swivel kick which knocked Julio back clutching his gut. Quickly, Jonny grabbed Julio by the collar of his jacket and rammed his knee into the bulbous face of the youth who was easily twice his own body weight. Julio staggered back holding his face, blood pouring from his mouth and nose. Jonny was now able to take his time, position himself, and leap forward with a powerful jump kick, knocking Julio through the open door of a storage room. The large youth tumbled inside, small and large car parts crashing down from the shelves that he struck as he fell, completely dazed.

Everything had happened so quickly, that Tay still had his hands on the front of Parker’s boxers, ready to pull them down and truly begin his initiation. After Julio crashed into the storage room, Tay was finally able to react. He got back to his feet and fumbled for the pocketknife he kept in the back pocket of his tight jeans.

Before he was able to get it out, Jonny was on him, landing several lightening quick blows to the boy’s chest and stomach. Tay crumpled to the floor groaning in pain. Without an instant’s hesitation, Jonny turned his attention back to the two stunned youths laying on the floor amidst a pile of auto parts and tools, cut and bruised. He first grabbed Han by the ankles and dragged him into the storage room. Resh was beginning to regain his senses when Jonny stomped his foot violently into the taller youth’s gut, causing the dazed leader of the gang to crumple up in agony, coughing and gagging. Jonny grabbed Resh by the collar and dragged him into the storage room as well. Then he came for Tay.

“Wait, wait!” the boy begged, getting to his knees, blood dripping from a cut on his lips.

Jonny prepared to launch into a powerful undercut that would knock the kid backwards and probably into unconsciousness.

“Wait, I can help...” he blustered, holding his hands fearfully in front of him.

Jonny hesitated, seeing true fear and regret in the boy’s dark eyes.

“Please, this was wrong..I’m sorry...didn’t mean any harm...” he blubbered, his lower lip quivering.

“Whatever you were going to get out of your pocket, throw it on the floor in front of you,” Jonny said, holding his attack stance but remaining between Tay and Parker.

“Okay, okay...” Tay gasped, tears streaming down his eyes. He reached into his back pocket and tossed the unopened pocketknife clattering onto the floor. Jonny kicked it into the shadows.

“Go close the storage room door,” Jonny ordered.

Tay got shakily to his feet and went across the room. The boy hesitated for a moment, looking at the limp forms of the three older boys.

“Close it!” Jonny called angrily.

Tay closed the door. Jonny saw that it had a simple lock in the doorknob. “Lock it,” he said. It probably wouldn’t hold long if the three guys put their full body weight against it, but it would do until Jonny could get Parker out of here. Tay locked it and stood quietly waiting, clutching his hands nervously in front of him, shocked by the speed and force with which Jonny had dispatched his brother, Han and even giant Julio, but also feeling very much ashamed at what he had done and what he had intended to do.

“Can you work this thing?” Jonny asked, gesturing to the block and tackle.

Tay nodded, anxious to please. He rushed over to the control panel and started the motor.

“I’m so sorry, Parker,” Jonny whispered, moisture pooling in his eyes. He touched his friend’s tear streaked face and brushed a lock of brown hair out of his friend’s eyes. “This was all my fault...”

Parker felt a jolt, and then relief as the chain was lowered. He was so weak from having his body so tightly stretched, that he collapsed to his knees when there was enough slack for him to do so.

Jonny caught him and eased him down so he wouldn’t bang his knees on the hard floor. He turned towards the other end of the room.

“Go if you want--get the hell out of here,” Jonny said bitterly.

“I can help you,” Tay offered, his voice trembling as he stood there looking small.

“How?” Jonny asked as he unhooked Parker’s bound wrists from the hanging chain.

“I can jump start Resh’s car...take you guys back to the mall...or wherever...”

“You think I don’t know how to jump start a Mustang?” Jonny asked sardonically.

Tay just stood there, trembling but determined to make amends if he could.

“Tell you what,” Jonny said in a calm, emotionless voice. “Find your pocketknife and bring it to me so I can get these fucking ropes off my friend!”

Tay hurried to obey.

“What..what are you doing?” Parker asked incredulously. “Don’t let him get the knife!”

”We’ll see if he’s trustworthy or not,” Jonny said quietly. Even though he was down on one knee in front of Parker, he was ready to spring up in a split second if necessary.

Tay got to his knees and rummaged around in the shadows along the edge of the open work area until he found his knife. True to his word, he brought it back to Jonny and handed it to the still kneeling youth unopened.

“Thanks...” Jonny muttered dryly. He cut the knots and the coils of rope fell away, leaving deep red troughs in Parker’s skin.

“Get his clothes,” he ordered, and Tay scrambled around, scooping up Parker’s shirt, jeans and shoes.

The dark haired youth stood by nervously as Jonny helped his shaken friend get back into his clothes. Parker peeled off his oil soaked socks before stuffing his bare feet back into his shoes. Jonny helped his friend to stand.

Can you believe I had another orgasm? I’d never had two in a row like that before! I cleaned myself with a dry part of the hand towel before tossing it in the hamper.

There was just a couple pages left and I read them... Jonny has Tay get behind the wheel of the Mustang and watches from the backseat as the boy jump-starts his brother’s car. They return to the edge of the mall parking lot where they prepare to part ways...

“I’m really sorry...” Tay said with genuine regret. “If there’s some way I can make this up...”

“You’d better get back to that junkyard and rescue your brother and his friends,” Jonny advised coolly. “If they suspect that you helped us...” Jonny’s voice trailed off ominously.

“You were good to me when you could have left me like the others,” Tay said, sniffling. “I won’t forget that.” And he drove off into the night.

“I thought that Asian guy was going to kill you!” Parker said, referring to Han. There was genuine concern and fear in his trembling voice.

Jonny shrugged. “He wasn’t really that good. Once they took off with you, I let him think that he had beaten me. I just played possum and then followed him, hoping he’d lead me to you. Lucky it wasn’t too far. When I saw where he was going, I grabbed him and...well, you know the rest.”

Parker called his mom on his cellphone to come pick them up. While they were both still shaken and bruised from their ordeal, the two friends drew some comfort from sitting together on the bench outside the mall, waiting for their ride. People were still going in and out from the movie theatres inside even though the stores had closed hours before.

“You never told me you could do those things,” Parker said.

Jonny shrugged modestly. “It never came up. I have a blackbelt in karate--big deal. I can’t believe the trouble I got you into.”

“It wasn’t your fault that we ran into those goons,” Parker insisted.

At this point, the dialogue goes along very much as I remembered it from that night at the mall, with Jonny explaining how the gang had been following him around the mall all afternoon. When they all ran into each other in the bathroom, it should have been clear to Jonny that it was an ambush. Parker tells his friend that it was Jonny they were originally after, and that it just turned out easier to abduct him...

“Well, I have to admit,” Jonny said shyly, “if they had to choose one of us to strip and tie up, they certainly got the better deal with you.”

“Hah, hah...” Parker groaned sarcastically. “I was scared shitless in that garage.” He shuddered at the all too recent memory.

“Really?” Jonny asked with a sly little grin. “I thought you were looking pretty cheeky in there!” he teased, remembering that Parker had the back of his boxers pulled down when Jonny first entered the repair shop.

Parker, blushing with embarrassment, poked his elbow into Jonny’s arm.

“Ow! What was that for?” Jonny asked, rubbing his arm and grimacing in exaggerated pain.

“You looked at my ass, you naughty, naughty boy!” Parker scolded him teasingly.

“It was certainly a better view than the faces of those four ugly goons!”

Parker shrugged. “Ya know, Tay wasn’t bad looking...He actually reminded me of you in a twisted sort of way.”

Jonny, thinking that Parker was more correct than he knew, actually nodded in agreement but didn’t say anything. Parker suddenly smiled.

“What is it?” Jonny asked.

“I was just thinking that it would be so awesome if we could get our revenge on Tay!” Parker said, lifting his eyebrows suggestively.

“You’ve got a dirty mind!” Jonny replied with a warm smile for his dearest friend.

There was a long silence as both boys ran the events of the evening through their own minds.

“Thanks for coming for me,” Parker said. “You were amazing!”

”I’d do anything for you, Parker, anything...”

The two boys embraced tightly, oblivious to the people strolling by, oblivious to everything except for their own heartfelt love for each other.

 

---

My eyes were tearing up by the end, not just because I was moved by the story, but because I was remembering that night just a few short weeks ago, and how Jesse and I had hugged each other so tightly and how good it had felt.

I reached for my cellphone. Normally, I didn’t call Jesse this early since I knew he was babysitting Miranda, but I just couldn’t wait to tell him how much I loved his story.

“Hello?” came that familiar raspy teen voice from the other end. I could hear cartoon noises in the background.

“You naughty, naughty boy!” I quoted, and Jesse giggled with recognition.

“You...read it, huh?” he asked shyly.

“Read it? I lived it! It was fucking great, Jesse! “

“I’m...a...glad you liked it...” he responded hesitantly. “I really didn’t know how you’d react...”

“React? Shit! How does two huge orgasms in a row sound for a reaction?”

Jesse couldn’t help but laugh even though he was trying to keep his voice down. “Sounds like you really got into it,” he giggled.

“Gees, it was great! I mean, Jesse, do you write a lot of stories? Because this was amazing, like a published work or something!”

“I think you’re overreacting,” Jesse said quietly.

“No I’m not. I’ve read a lot of books, and I know what other kids our age are capable of. This was way beyond that!”

“So you weren’t upset that I took our little adventure and...spiced it up a bit?” he asked, finally starting to accept the fact that I really loved his story.

“That was great. I loved the way you mixed fact and fiction. It just made the hot parts that much...hotter!”

“So you thought it was...er...interesting?” Jesse asked coyly.

“Of course!” I raved. “I already told you, two...”

“I know, two times in a row!” Jesse exclaimed with a childish snicker.

“But Jesse, do you have other stories?” I asked.

“Well...” There was a long pause that I now knew usually indicated that Jesse was thinking about his past. His voice got quieter. “I used to write quite a bit--mostly silly rip offs, Star Trek, Tolkien, Star Wars--stuff like that.”

“I’d love to read them,” I said enthusiastically.

“Well...when we were packing to move out here I sort of...sort of threw them all out.”

I felt as if I had just been sucker punched.

“Why would you do that?” I asked in shock.

“I...I don’t know exactly. They just seemed...unnecessary. I mean, why drag a couple of extra boxes of paper across the country? Like I said, they were just nonsense...”

“But you’re a good writer, Jesse. I mean it. Even if the subject matter had been--well, not so erotic, it still would have been a great story, well structured, well told. There was characterization and emotion and action...”

“And what about that double climax?!” Jesse teased.

We both laughed--that was a good one!

“Anyway, have you written anything else since you moved out here?” I asked.

”This was the first thing. I didn’t feel like it before--actually, I didn’t think I was going to write anything anymore, but I guess, you--and our little adventure at the mall--sort of inspired me again.”

“I’m glad, and I’m glad you shared it with me, really glad,” I emphasized.

We were both getting emotional now and there was long pause filled in by the racket coming from Miranda’s cartoon show.

“You really need that computer, dude,” I urged him. “Think how great it would be to work in a word processing program with automatic margins and spell check and everything. You could even print them up--it would be so cool!”

“Well, my mom’s still thinking about it...” Jesse spoke carefully.

I had the feeling that she had already said no, but I didn’t want to argue with him, so I just let it go. “Talk to her, dude!” I urged one more time. “A good writer needs to have the right tools...”

“Parker had the right tool and look where that got him,” he reminded me.

“You’re sick!” I said with a big grin on my face.

“Well, you can keep it if you want...” Jesse offered.

“I would love too,” I answered, getting that warm feeling that I had come to know so well since I met Jesse. “It will always remind me of you...”

“And about tools,” Jesse teased. A pause, and then, “Actually, I started writing another one...”

“Cool! I can’t wait to read it!” I exclaimed.

“Hmm, well, we’ll see,” Jesse replied uncertainly. He sighed.

“I wish I could see you again,” I said, almost humming it into the phone.

“You just saw me less than two hours ago!” Jesse teased, knowing full well what I meant.

“What are you wearing?” I asked, feeling horny and silly. One of the things I loved about Jesse was that I didn’t have to act like a typical ‘cool’ teenager with him, at least on the phone or when we were alone. It was extremely liberating.

“The same stuff I was wearing less than two hours ago!” Jesse giggled.

“Even your shoes?” I pressed him.

“No...” Jesse answered, probably wondering if I had lost my mind. “What are you...”

“I’m not wearing nuthin’!” I whispered in a husky voice.

There was a cartoon filled pause. “Mmmmm,” Jesse moaned longingly. “That sounds good!”

“It’s because of your stupid story!” I teased him. “The first time I...well, climaxed, I was somewhat unprepared...”

”You made a mess,” Jesse surmised.

“Yeah, a mess. So I just took off all my fucking clothes and lay back down, feeling fine, until your damn story did it to me again!”

“Perry, you’re too much!” Jesse sighed.

“Really, I wish we could get together again, like last Friday...” I was feeling so relaxed and sexy after reading Jesse’s story, it was like my head was in a fog.

“Ummm, me too...” Jesse spoke softly.

“Jesse, I’m thirsty!” came the familiar, high pitched little voice, demanding attention.

“Okay, okay! I’m on the phone--just a minute!” he pleaded.

It was funny to hear how annoyed Jesse sounded, and yet I knew that he took his responsibility of taking care of his little sister very seriously.

“Sounds like your master is calling,” I giggled.

“Yeah...well...I better go. I’ll...ah...see you tomorrow, ‘kay?” he stammered shyly.

“I’ll be there,” I said with a smile. “Thanks again for the story, Jesse. I love it and I love you!” I would have kissed the phone except that Miranda’s shrill voice had shaken me somewhat from my reverie. So I ended the call with a sigh.

I wanted to read the story again right away, but then thought it would be fresher (and hotter!) if I could hold off for a while. I would take a nice long shower, dress in my comfortable sweats, do my homework, and eat Chinese food for dinner.

It was a Star Trek night and my mom usually watched it with me, even though I think she only did it because she knew it was one of my favorites. Still, it was nice, and we even cuddled a bit on the sofa, her stroking my hair lightly, reminding me of years and innocence gone by.

“You seem so happy, Perry,” she commented at one point. “So...unteenager like!” she teased.

“Mommmm!” I groaned, but didn’t argue with her.

When the episode was over, we both went upstairs to our rooms. I was deciding whether to reread Jesse’s story now, or read something else a little safer and wait until later to do the deed. Finally, I decided that both approaches would be best, and settled in to get right to work...

When I saw Jesse in homeroom the next day, he looked down at his feet and blushed like a red, red rose! I tried to show him with my expression, how grateful I was that he had let me read his story, and took my seat behind him. He seemed unusually shy and skittish all day, and barely said a word during lunch.

On Mondays through Thursdays, Geography was our first class of the afternoon. It was probably my least favorite subject, and the one I struggled in the most. Mr. Walsh, topping out at a formidable six foot three, and thin as a twig, didn’t help matters much. While he was apparently well respected by his peers (as he often reminded us), and lectured frequently to church and civic groups on matters dealing with history, politics, and current events, his monotone voice made it difficult for me not to doze off, especially right after lunch.

I was just nodding off, my stomach contentedly full, having wolfed down an Italian sub and a bag of chips less than half an hour ago, when Jesse (for the first time ever), passed me a note, telling me to meet him in the boy’s bathroom. He then raised his hand and asked Mr. Walsh for a hall pass to go to the restroom. This was a fairly common way for some of the less enthusiastic kids in class to get away for a few minutes, and it was getting far enough into the year that the teachers were becoming more wary of such tactics. But since it was Jesse’s first time, Mr. Walsh unquestioningly gave him his pass.

I was wondering what Jesse was up to, what was so important that he needed to discuss it right away during class, and yet I was afraid to raise my hand too soon to make the same request. Certainly it would look strange to both teacher and students. I was also not one who usually pulled these kind of stunts, although sometimes, Geography being right after lunch, I did have an honest reason to do so. I waited what seemed like an eternity, and finally asked if I could go. It had actually only been five and a half minutes since Jesse had stepped out. Mr. Walsh gave me a slightly odd look, but wrote me my pass.

“If you see Mr. Taylor wandering the halls, would you please send him back this way?” he asked sarcastically, peering down at me from the bridge of his incredibly long nose. The problem with really tall people was, you could always see their nose hairs--yuck!

“Sure thing!” I said with my most sincere puppy dog face.

It didn’t seem like anyone else was giving me any suspicious looks--except maybe for Tom, but he was acting so strange lately anyway that I quickly discounted it.

I practically raced down the empty corridor to the boy’s bathroom. Once at the door, I paused long enough to gather my wits about me and make sure my hair and clothes were all in order--afterall, he was my boyfriend!

When I entered, Jesse was leaning against one of the sinks. He turned to smile at me and I felt my heart melt.

“I thought you were gonna blow me off!” he said, approaching me.

“I didn’t know how long I should wait to avoid suspicion,” I apologized. “What’s up?” I asked, assuming he had brought me here to discuss something important--maybe something about the story he had let me read. Instead, he opened the door to the stall furthest from the hallway, and beckoned me to follow.

Once we were both in the cramped metal sided stall, Jesse slid the bolt. He had this hugely evil smile on his face, and I suddenly realized he hadn’t brought me here to talk!

He turned and grasped me with both hands around the back of my neck and pushed my face into his. Our lips pressed together until the pressure became too much and our mouths opened to exchange tongues. Oh how I loved Jesse’s taste! The feel of his lips on mine, the sensation of his hot moist tongue swirling around my mouth, it just made my head spin! Finally, I managed to break away, gasping for breath.

“What the hell was that about?” I asked with a big grin on my face, my cheeks flushed red.

“God, I can’t live without you, Perry,” my beautiful blonde angel moaned. “I can’t focus in class--I just keep thinking about you, about your taste, your smell, your eyes, your hair, your...”

“I get the idea,” I giggled, gently touching his lips to get him to stop babbling.

We just stared at each other with silly grins of pure bliss on our teenage faces. I was quickly getting hard, and I saw a good sized lump forming in the front of Jesse’s khaki Dockers as well. I rubbed my hands over his white polo shirt, starting at his shoulders and going down to his lean belly. Jesse moaned with pleasure.

“This is insane!” I said, suddenly pulling away. “What if someone comes in! Isn’t it going to look kinda suspicious seeing two pairs of feet in one stall?!”

Jesse giggled and agilely leapt up on the cover of the toilet. He squatted down so that his face was level with mine. It struck me as ironic that, the last time we had shared a stall together, I had been the one on the toilet seat cover--blubbering like a baby!

“Better?” he asked, and grabbed me again, not waiting for a reply. After another two minutes of passionate french kissing, we pulled apart. Jesse wiped the excess saliva from his mouth with his bare forearm and lightly jumped down. He looked at me and released a heavy sigh.

“We’d better go!” he said, still practically glowing with pent up sexual energy.

“What about...?” I asked, gesturing to both our ‘lumps.’

“They’ll go down when we start walking,” Jesse assured me.

“I...I don’t know...” I stammered skeptically.

“I’ll go first!” he said. “Wait a couple minutes before you follow!” He planted a big wet one on my cheek and opened the stall. He gave me a little wave and left me alone in the bathroom.

I sat myself down on the commode, still reeling from our brief but passionate encounter. The fact that Jesse felt as strongly attracted to me as I was to him, really blew my mind. This couldn’t just happen to anyone, could it? I mean, Morgan didn’t feel like he had to have a taste of Katy every few hours, just to keep his sanity, did he? I doubted it. The depth and intensity of our relationship made me shiver with joy...

I waited a few minutes, hoping my erection would disappear, but the lingering taste of Jesse in my mouth and on my lips, just kept fueling the fire, so to speak. I finally decided to just brave it, and marched resolutely out into the hall. I was stunned when I saw Sister Mary Helen, the school librarian, walking towards me from the other end of the open corridor. I was tempted to go right back inside the boy’s bathroom, but realized that would look really weird. Instead, I turned and started walking in the same direction as the Sister and away from my class.

I stopped at my locker and began working intently at the combination lock.

“Good afternoon, Perry,” Sister Mary Helen said cheerfully as she passed me.

“Good afternoon, Sister!” I replied, not daring to turn away from my locker until she had turned a corner. Phew! That was close!

On Friday, the only real event of any note was when Jesse got called to the office during art class, the last period of the day. Everyone made the usual noises of doom and gloom as he left, although no one seriously believed that a bashful, quiet kid like Jesse could get into any serious trouble. He returned about fifteen minutes later and quietly took his seat.

“Why did you get called to the office?” I asked, as we walked to the parking lot after school.

“You know about the tutoring program?” Jesse asked.

I guess I did, although I never thought about it much. I got good enough grades that I didn’t need one, and I also wasn’t comfortable tutoring anyone else, so I never paid it much attention.

“Yeah,” I answered dumbly. I had seen Jeremiah Oatner working with lower grade kids in the library after school sometimes.

“Well, my mom filled out the form so I could tutor--they pay like ten bucks an hour, dude!” he said excitedly.

“So that’s why you went to the office?” I asked.

“Yeah, they got me a couple of students already. One’s a sixth grade girl I don’t even know named Harriet Quinn. The other is Derek Kipner!”

It took a couple of seconds to register, then I remembered that Derek was Morgan’s younger brother. I only knew him a little. I thought he was around twelve years old. I knew he was in seventh grade. I hadn’t really paid much attention to him, just because he was my friend’s kid brother, and you usually didn’t pay attention to things ...er ...people, like that. I had a picture of a kinda cute, shorter version of Morgan, with light brown hair cut short. He always seemed to be bouncing around, his attention quickly moving from one thing to another, always laughing, always in a good mood. I remember him always trying to hover around whenever I was at Morgan’s house. Morgan usually shooed him away, but I still got the sense that they had a pretty comfortable relationship. At school, it seemed like, even though they didn’t mix socially, Morgan kept a conscientious eye on his kid brother.

“That’s cool. Morgan’s brother!”

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it--especially the money part!” Jesse said, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

“When do you start?”

“Next week--it’ll be every Tuesday and Thursday, a half hour with each kid--that’s twenty bucks a week!”

“What about Miranda?” I asked.

Jesse got an even bigger smile on his face. “I think my mom has finally persuaded her to stay at her afterschool program. It’s free because it’s a public school.”

“That’s great, but why did your mom have to persuade her?”

I saw Jesse’s expression darken, and I knew that I had touched on something unpleasant from his past .

“Well, it’s a long story, but she had a bad experience at the Daycare program at her old school in Evanston...”

“Well, I’m glad it’s all working out for you, dude!” I said, trying to push past the moment.

“Yeah, I’m pretty lucky. The school only has a small budget for tutoring, and I was told that there were even some parents who had applied.”

“I’m glad they picked you--you really deserve it!” I said, giving Jesse a firm ‘hetero’ pat on the back.

Jesse nodded, but his expression became more somber.

“I guess I’ll be babysitting pretty much all weekend...” he said gloomily.

“If we don’t get together again soon, I’m going to explode,” I told him quietly, getting as close as I could to him without drawing attention to ourselves.

“I know the feeling...” Jesse acknowledged. “Well, I think my bus is coming, so...I’ll see ya!”

“I’ll call--we’ll have phone sex or something!” I whispered, as he started backing away. Our eyes locked intensely and meaningfully, before he turned away. I immediately felt an emptiness flood my being, but I was glad he had gotten the tutoring job. I knew how much it meant to him to be earning some money on his own. I was also glad that I wasn’t the only one who was impressed with Jesse Taylor. I silently thanked Principal Cardoza, or Father Marlen, or whoever it was that had chosen Jesse over the other applicants.

I tried to keep my mind off of Jesse over the weekend, but it was like trying to forget my own address or birthday--simply impossible. Fortunately, my mom kept us busy all day Saturday, running errands in the morning, and stopping to have lunch at a nice restaurant downtown--if you could call the five or six block stretch of small shops, eateries, and low rise office buildings a downtown.

“You seem preoccupied,” my mom observed as she watched me pick at my Cajun Chicken Salad.

For some reason, it always startled me when someone was able to detect my mood so easily. Still, she was my mom, and I guess she knew me better than anyone.

“I guess I was just thinking about Jesse,” I said, trying to be as honest as I could without revealing the true depths of my feelings for him. “I wonder what his life was like, back in Illinois...It must have been hard.”

“I think he had a very difficult time,” my mom agreed. “But I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to dwell on it.”

“But why, mom? Why do some people have everything handed to them on a silver platter, and others--good people like Jesse and his mom--why do they have to suffer so much? It doesn’t seem fair.”

I could see that my mom was as much concerned by my own dismal state of mind as she was about Jesse, and she thought for a while before responding.

“You’re growing up, Perry,” she observed. “You’re not a little boy anymore, and I can’t always protect you from the bad things in this world. One thing you need to learn as soon as possible--and this is a hard lesson to really grasp--is that life isn’t fair. No one said it would be, and thinking that it should be, is just going to make you bitter and resentful.”

I nodded, more in recognition of the difficulty of the lesson, than the ability to wrap my mind around the concept itself. I guess I wanted things to work out the way they did in movies, or books, or TV--especially TV. People could get themselves into so much trouble over the course of an hour, and still have everything resolved before the end credits started rolling. The bad guys always got what they deserved, and the good, truehearted, hard working people always were rewarded.

“I just wish I could do something for him,” I said, the slight quiver in my voice giving away more than I wanted to.

“You are doing something for him,” my mom insisted. “I already told you how Jesse’s mood and grades have improved since he first met you.”

“That doesn’t feel like enough,” I said, aching inside, missing Jesse’s physical presence. “I wish he could have a nice house to live in, and had the best computer in his room, and that his mom didn’t have to work two jobs...”

“You know those Mastercard commercials where they rattle off how much this thing costs and that thing costs?” my mom asked.

I nodded, wondering why she had brought that up.

“Well, your friendship is like the final pronouncement in those commercials,” my mom explained, “... priceless."

On the Monday before Halloween, Jesse seemed to be in a good mood. It automatically made me feel good, just knowing that he was happy. He kept glancing at me all day long, much more than he usually did, and I was starting to worry that somebody was going to notice.

We were headed for our lockers to dump off our morning pile of textbooks before lunch period, when I noticed something sticking out of Jesse’s mathbook.

“What’s that?” I asked, pointing to what looked like a piece of fancy pink paper, neatly folded in half.

When we got to our lockers, Jesse took the paper out and unfolded it. It was a piece of stationary with a ribbon of flowers forming a colorful border. Written in a nice, circular hand was a note. It read: ‘Dear Jesse, you are the cutest boy in the whole class. I think about you all day long and dream about you every night. I guess I’m too shy to just come out and tell you myself, but if you look around the class, I think you’ll know who I am. Signed, Your Very Special Someone.’ (The word ‘Special’ had a little heart replacing the dot over the ‘i.’)

Jesse just smiled shyly. I patted him on the back.

“Congratulations dude!” I said with a big grin. “Your first love letter!”

“Well, actually...” he said, opening his locker. He took the stationary and carefully folded it up again on its original crease. He took a pocket folder out of his locker and opened it. It was full of dozens of pieces of paper, some fancy colorful stationary like the one he had just received, and others just ragged sheets torn out of notebooks and still others just regular lined paper. There were old homework assignments and handouts with notes scribbled on them. I realized that they were all love letters and notes, addressed to Jesse!

“Shit dude, how many of those things do you have there?” I asked, my eyes almost popping out of my head.

“I don’t know exactly,” he said, “but I figured out, by comparing the handwriting, that they’re from at least thirteen different people.”

The first thought that struck me was that one of them must be from a boy, since there were only twelve girls in our class. Than I realized that some could be from girls in other classes. In fact he showed me one, written (ironically) on the back of a fifth grade spelling list, that read: ‘Deer Jesy, you are probably the kewlest boy ever in this scool. I wish I could be your girlfrend, but I guess I am to yung.’

After we got done laughing, I asked him, “Why do you keep all these things?”

He just shrugged and didn’t say anything for a long time. Finally, he spoke in an almost inaudible voice. “I have to prepared for the day that you lose interest in me.”

I couldn’t tell if he was joking or not, since he was looking down and his golden blonde bangs were hiding his expression from me.

“Dude, that would never happen,” I assured him quietly.

I was troubled by Jesse’s insinuation, facetious or not, that I might abandon him somehow. Again, it caused me to wonder how he had been treated back in Illinois. Whatever had happened there, it had almost completely destroyed his self esteem.

I was just getting ready for bed, digging Jesse’s spiral notebook out from it’s hiding place against the back of one of my bookshelves, behind my Orson Scott Card collection, when my cellphone started to ring.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me--Jesse!” the shy voice said.

I giggled, thinking it was funny that Jesse thought I wouldn’t instantaneously recognize his cute raspy voice.

“What’s up?” I asked, feeling a wave of relief and contentment wash away my earlier troubled thoughts.

“Well,” Jesse said in his usual careful, hesitant way. “Something’s come up...”

For some reason, this sounded bad, and I suddenly grew very concerned, even sitting on the edge of the bed in anticipation of...I don’t know what.

“What is it, dude?” I asked, my voice filled with urgent concern.

“Hey, calm down,” he said with a giggle. “It’s nothing bad...at least I don’t think...”

“What is it?” I interrupted him, half laughing, half dying for him to get to the point.

“Well, it turns out that my mom is going to visit my aunt in Oceanside on Saturday...”

“Yesss.....?” I urged him to spill whatever it was he had to spill.

“And she’s staying overnight...”

“Yessss?”

“And she’s taking Miranda...” Jesse said, speaking slowly and deliberately. I knew he was stringing me along and enjoying it.

“Yessssss....????”

“And my mom said it would be okay if you wanted to come over on Saturday and you could even spend the night if you wanted to!” Jesse blurted, finally letting the words tumble out of his mouth in one long flood of excitement.

At first, I couldn’t quite grasp what he was telling me--something about his mom going to his aunt’s, something about Miranda going too...something about...

“Oh My God!” I blurted out much louder than I had intended. I covered my mouth to keep from laughing hysterically.

“Are you serious?”

“Very,” Jesse replied anxiously.

“Oh My God! This is too fucking cool!” I exclaimed, finding it hard to catch my breath. I was now pacing around my bedroom, the cellphone glued to my ear. I felt like I had just won the lottery!

“So, you want to....like...hang out over here on Saturday?” Jesse asked shyly.

“Gees, I have to check my calendar...” I said, trying to get back at him a little for taking so long to get to the point, but then I just started giggling uncontrollably. I held my breath, trying to force myself to calm down. My heart was pounding with excitement.

“Are you okay over there?” Jesse asked with genuine concern.

“More than okay!” I assured him. “I’m fucking flying through the air!”

“So does that mean you want to come over, or do you have flying lessons this weekend?”

I sat back down on the bed, not believing that this could be happening.

“Hello, are you still there?” Jesse asked teasingly.

“Yeah, still here, still flying...”

“Well, I hope you don’t bump your head on the ceiling or anything...besides, this place isn’t exactly the Taj Mahal, you know, nothing like your beautiful house.”

“If you’re in it, it will be beautiful,” I assured him.

“Hmmm, and I thought I was the weird one...”

I always thought that it was such a shame that Jesse so rarely shared his sharp sense of humor with anyone but me, but it just made me love him even more.

“I’ll have to check with my mom,” I said, finally getting a little serious. “I don’t think we had any big plans for the weekend. She doesn’t like me to miss church on Sundays...”

“Well, maybe we could go from here. I mean, if you want to stay over night...”

“Are you kidding? I’ll sleep on the balcony if I have to!”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary. I think we can find a dry spot in the kitchen...”

“This is going to be so great!” I exclaimed, grinning like a circus clown.

“Yeah, it will,” Jesse agreed. I could tell by the quiver in his voice that he was just as excited as me, but was, probably by necessity, trying to keep a lid on it. The only phone in the house was apparently in the kitchen, so he never had the luxury of privacy that I had. But he had called me which was unusual in the first place, so I knew he couldn’t wait to share the news.

“I can’t believe it’s four days ‘til Saturday,” I groaned.

“Well, you do have your happening party to go to on Friday,” Jesse reminded me.

“Ugh, don’t remind me!” I said with clear distaste. The suggestion that the guests had been chosen mostly on the basis of their looks struck a weird chord with me. On the one hand, I was flattered to be considered in that company, and on the other hand, it seemed awfully vain and shallow. Still, I had to admit, the first thing that drew me to Jesse was his strikingly good looks. It was just my good fortune that, the more I learned about him, the more I cared for him. So maybe I was being hypocritical...

“Well, at least try to get a peak down Melissa’s shirt if you get a chance,” Jesse said, and I couldn’t tell if he was kidding or not.

“I’d rather peek down your shirt,” I replied.

“Yeah, well, it’s about time-- I always thought my nipples were highly underrated,” he muttered.

“I can’t wait for Saturday, dude,” I moaned.

“You can wait if I can,” Jesse admonished me.

“I’m going to read your story once more time before I turn in,” I said.

Ummm, then I guess you can dream about Julio....” Jesse said in a mock romantic voice, referring to the hulking brute from the story he had written for me.

“Hey, fat can be sexy!”

“Oh yeah? Then I’ll start pounding down the double bacon cheeseburgers and ice cream, so I’ve got a nice jelly belly by Saturday!”

“I love jelly!” I assured him. “Smeared all over your tummy, mmmmm...”

“Go to bed, you pervert!” Jesse snickered.

“We’re all going,” I said wistfully. “Me and Tay, and...mmmm.... that hottie, Jonny--I think Parker can sleep downstairs...”

“That’s okay, Parker’s sleeping with me,” Jesse assured me in hushed, sexy voice.

I shivered when he said that. It was a wonderful feeling. “That’s good,” I mumbled quietly. “That’s very good...”

“G’night,” Jesse whispered.

“G’night, sweet angel...” I murmured, letting Jesse hang up first before I ended the call. I got out another towel and laid back down with Jesse’s story...

 

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